


Fruit punch & mistletoe

by Pansexualweirdo



Category: The Simpsons
Genre: Carl's A Good Boyfriend, Christmas Party, Class Reunions, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Lenny's Riddled With Anxiety, Light Angst, M/M, Mistletoe, One swear, POV Carl Carlson, Probably Not Their First, thanks for coming to my ted talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28069788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pansexualweirdo/pseuds/Pansexualweirdo
Summary: Lenny's got an invite to a class reunion Christmas party, and he brings Carl as his plus-one. Their old classmates bring up Carl and Lenny's relationship and they both realize there might be more to said relationship than they first thought.For a Christmas fic, it's not excessively Christmassy, but I'm not the most Christmassy person, soooo,,,Still, I hope you enjoy this! Have fun reading! <3
Relationships: Carl Carlson & Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson/Lenny Leonard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Fruit punch & mistletoe

When Lenny returned from getting the mail, he ran into the living room with a prompt vigor, waving an envelope in the air as he jumped up and down, going: “Carl, Carl!”

Practically pulled out of the comfort of their shared sofa, Carl laughed and told Lenny to slow down and tell him what the fuss was all about. Sure enough, the spiky-haired man was already on his way, what sounded like the entire declaration of independence coming out of his mouth in a single breath. Carl caught the words ’Christmas’, ‘class reunion’, and ‘party’, more or less used to his best friend’s manic rants, and he connected the dots.

“There’s gunna be a class reunion Christmas party?”

“Yes!” shouted Lenny, visibly overjoyed by the news (while Carl felt more dispassionate about it, seeing Lenny happy made him happy) and Leonard shortly collected himself, laughing in disbelief. He giggled, incredulous: “How did you manage to piece together _anything_ that I just said?!”, eyes crinkling at the corners. Carl chuckled, a smile of his own pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“How long have we known each other, man?”

“Fair enough.”

After reading through the invitation properly together, one certain excerpt stood out to Carl. ‘We happily welcome you and a plus one to this Yuletide event’. They only got this one letter, for some reason, and it was addressed to _Lenny_. To Carl, it only felt natural they both attend the party, but since the invitation was to his friend, the decision was up to _him_.

Still, he couldn’t bear not knowing. “So, uh-... who’ll you bring as your plus-one?”, he asked, aiming for casual, but Lenny saw right through him, glaring at him with a deadpan look on his face. “Who the hell do you think?” he raised, a challenge.

Lenny could be a good actor when he wanted to because Carl genuinely thought he was missing something until Lenny playfully bumped his shoulder.

“You’re my plus-one of course! You will always be my plus-one!”

 _Sheesh_ , thought Carl looking the other over, _that smile is brighter than the sun._ He was happy to hear Lenny and him were on the same page - but then again, when _weren’t_ they?

* * *

The class reunion Christmas party took place just a week before Christmas. By this time of the year, the city of Springfield was covered in a thick layer of snow and everyone had their Christmas decor up; even Moe placed a wreath on the door to his bar! Lenny and Carl had of course set up a Christmas tree - after a heated argument about whether it should be real or plastic. Carl had ultimately been the one to give in to Lenny’s real tree, because it was better for the environment. Carl could be a stickler for his own Christmas traditions; his family has always had a white plastic tree, but he was more of a stickler for his best friend, quite honestly.

The days passed far too quickly, and before they knew it, it was time. Carl caught Lenny fiddling with his shirt cufflinks in front of the hallway mirror and he shook his head at his antics, walking up and offering him a hand.

Lenny tried once or twice more himself before letting out an exasperated huff and slapping the cufflinks into Carl’s hand. “I dunno why I’m nervous, but I am. What if I’m overdressed, or _underdressed?_ Everyone’s gonna stare at me!” he ranted. While fixing his cufflinks, Carl eyed him up and down. The man looked good in formal wear, he’d be ignorant to deny it. A dark green checkered shirt matched with tan chinos and a black belt; Lenny had style, that was for sure. Carl himself wore black slacks and a lavender button up, though he feared his best friend’s fashion sense might outclass his own.

“If anyone stares at you, it’s only cuz you look great, and besides; you got nuthin’ to prove to any of those people. You just be yourself, Len,” Carl promised, triumphant when the tension in Lenny’s shoulders disappeared. He nodded agreeingly, taking a deep, much needed breath. “Thanks, Carl.”

“No problem. Now whaddya say we make this night one to remember, huh? Let’s go!” 

* * *

The pair scream-sung to Christmas classics in the car during their drive to ease their nerves, but when they stepped inside the gym of their old school, it felt that precaution had been taken in vain. They recognized every single face inside of the old building, both friends and fiends.

_They were back at college again._

However, Carl was optimistic, and he wasn’t going to let his presumptive anxiety ruin this evening before it could properly begin.

For a party, there wasn’t a whole lot of dancing, but Carl preferred it that way. There were some tables with various finger foods and bowls of punch set up. Most people were already paired off in groups, glancing back at the new visitors with inscrutable expressions. _At least there’s alcohol,_ Carl thought.

Nicky, a friendly girl whom Carl remembered from graduation, welcomed him and Lenny and handed them each a name tag and a cup of punch. She encouraged them to ‘mingle with the others’, and so, that’s what they would do.

Lenny looked at him with wide eyes, questioning; searching. Carl was familiar with that hesitation. He nodded and said: “We’ve got this.”

A lap around the gym later, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Everyone talked to everyone and some Christmas music trickled out from huge speakers set up in the corners. Carl and Lenny had talked to old college friends, Nicky and her fiancé, and even some enemies-turned not enemies. It turns out people _can_ change, after all.

Lowbrow activities you can expect at a class reunion like limbo, trivia quizzes and such were held and Carl was having a great time with his best friend and all of his old classmates. Soon enough, though, because _something_ had to take a spin for the worse, he noticed a pair off to the side were sending him and Lenny particularly quizzical glances, talking in hushed tones.

_Oh boy, and now they were coming over._

A girl in an LBD and red lipstick whose name tag read ‘Molly’ offered them an unsure smile, starting the conversation right up.

“So are either of you married?”, she shot, straight to the point. The man with her, ‘Trevor’, according to his name tag, shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking extremely uncomfortable. He became Lenny’s spitting image, because at that moment, both of their movements matched pretty well. Lenny barked out a nervous laugh.

“Nope! No, I- I’m not,” he said, not as much as gaining a look from Molly. Her focus was on Carl. Did she have a personal vendetta towards him? Carl didn’t remember pissing her off.

“And you?” Molly asked, pointing a slender, manicured hand at Carl, who swallowed. What was her end game?

He answered Molly’s cryptic questions carefully: “No. Why?”

Molly scoffed, her lined eyes telling them she suspected as much. Her company, who was chained to her by the arm, frankly seemed more interested in the wall. _You and me both, pal,_ Carl thought. He didn’t recall hanging out with Molly all that much in college, so that probably meant she was bad news. But then he realized he didn’t hang out with much of anyone besides Lenny.

“Oh, no reason, I was just curious. So are you guys together, oorrrr..?” she gestured between the two of them, keeping her expression neutral, but you could see the hint of delight in her eyes. Both her victims froze on the spot, Carl could feel his face heating up like a Goddamn Christmas tree. He never expected that question, he _couldn’t_ have. His head snapped to Lenny, who looked back at him; equally terrified.

Why hadn’t Carl considered the possibility of people suspecting they were a couple when they showed up at the reunion together and never left each other’s side once all evening? They lived in the same house, for Christ’s sake! Why hadn’t this question popped up _before_ now?

With Michael Bublé distantly echoing throughout the gym, Carl managed to find his footing and form a response, saving both him and Lenny from confusion and/or embarrassment; if only just for now.

“No. We’re not together.”

Molly looked crushed. Trevor looked ready to leave both the conversation and the party. He hadn’t said a word this entire time, but maybe that was for the better.

“So you’re not married to anyone else _or_ each other…” began Molly. What was so hard to get? Why did she have to repeat herself?

“No,” sneered Carl, trying to stay civil. It probably wasn’t obvious to the outside viewer, but Lenny trembled like a leaf, Carl could feel it. If they didn’t have to defend their relationship to this chick and her _plus-one-who’d-rather-be-anywhere-else,_ he would take Lenny’s hand in his right now and squeeze it to assure him they were alright. All he could do at the moment was give him a sympathetic smile, but Lenny couldn’t seem to return it. Molly continued, without volition or any prominent goal in mind: “- but you’re here _together_.”

“Yea. Lenny and I are best friends. We wanted to go to this class reunion together since we were in the same class,” Carl explained, then pretended to check his nonexistent wristwatch. He was done being courteous. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have better things to do than stand around here all night defending our friendship. Good night,” he bid Molly and Trevor the Mute, sending them a two-finger salute and dragging Lenny with him out of there. He didn’t bother looking back; it just wasn’t worth it.

“You’d think grown-ups would have conversations that are slightly more… grown-up, right?” ribbed Carl as they scurried off to the punch table. He needed another drink, and from the look of it, so did Leonard.

He agreed weakly: “Yeah, hahah…“, a bit out of it, and Carl resisted the urge to pat his back. He took a long sip from his cup; the punch was peppered with cinnamon and far too sweet, but it was better than nothing. 

* * *

Recovering from Molly wasn’t a swift progress; in fact, her questions, or rather one in particular, was stuck on Carl’s mind like a record on repeat. ‘Are you guys together?’. He never spent much time speculating if they were, or if they _should_ be. Lenny’s attractive, after all, and they’ve got more in common than they don’t. Whatever happens, Lenny’s there for him, and Carl has never had a boring moment with him. Why, Carl couldn’t imagine life without him.

But this was a new concept, the two of them; a _couple_. Carl didn’t want to spring the idea on Lenny when they were out on a public event, or even before he had processed it himself, so he let it remain an unsolved mystery out in the open.

The question itself sadly wasn’t let be. More ex-students suddenly felt emboldened enough to ask about Carl and Lenny’s relationship, though they were all much less malicious than the one who had initially sprung the question. Some even pointed out how ‘impressive’ it was that the two of them hadn’t gotten tired of one another over the years, and Carl suppressed a laugh. That _was_ kind of true. He didn’t know himself how they had worked so well for so long.

Still, Lenny was quieter than usual, and Carl could tell he didn’t feel comfortable with all of the interrogating questions, so he kindly replied to all their curious friends that he and Lenny, too, were just that. Friends.

“I need some air,” mumbled Leonard, slipping away through the crowd and toward the exit, and Carl followed him, stopping him by the door.

“Hey, hey, wait a second. Talk to me, what’s up?”

“You know what’s up, Carl, people are invading our privacy!” hissed Lenny, apparently not worried about the things Carl thought he might be. He placed a hand on one of Lenny’s trembling arms, hoping to ground him.

“I know, but they mean no harm-“

“What about that Molly girl?” Lenny cut him off.

Carl fell into thought, looking at Lenny’s wet eyes, and he gulped, his heart dropping to his stomach. Was Lenny _that_ affected by that girl’s comments?

With a hand on Lenny’s arm rubbing circles through the fabric, a familiar sense of comfort used between the two of them, Carl replied: “... Okay, _she_ might’ve meant harm- but look, she’s too bored with her own life, that’s why she had to go pokin’ into someone else’s. Don’t put any more energy into thinking about her or what she said.”

Just as Lenny was about to speak again, the pair was rudely interrupted by someone a few feet away enthusiastically telling them to “Look up!”.

Carl complied, and to his horror/delight, unsure of what outweighed the other, he could see a makeshift mistletoe hanging above them from the doorframe. He looked at Lenny - who’s face matched the shade of the berries on the mistletoe - then at the person having called them out, who just so happened to be Molly’s Mute fucking Trevor. His plus- one was nowhere to be seen and the guy looked like it was Christmas _and_ his birthday all at once. Had he been able to break out of his shell now that _she_ wasn’t here?

When Carl looked back at his best friend, he hoped to make light of the situation and give Leonard a chance to tap out from kissing him by jokingly saying: “Where the hell did he come from?”

But strangely enough, Lenny didn’t laugh and excuse himself to leave. Instead, he stepped closer to his friend and shrugged, hands coming up to rest on Carl’s shoulders.

“I dunno, Carl, the kid has a point,” he said, voice low enough only for Carl to hear him.

Carl’s face was engulfed in flames at this point. Lenny’s hands emitted warmth through the fabric of his blazer and his eyes were dark, soft as they stared straight into Carl’s, unafraid and open.

Swallowing and breathing became the most difficult tasks anyone ever has had to do, and the background faded around them as Carl allowed himself to glance at Lenny’s lips. “Yeah? Should we?” he asked, a mere raspy breath. He slowly wrapped his arms around the other’s slim waist, testing the waters and still allowing Leonard to stop this whenever he wanted. They’d hugged a thousand times before, but this was… different. Carl could see Lenny now, perhaps for the first time ever, and he didn’t know if he could look away.

“It’s tradition, ain’t it? We might as well.”

Carl chuckled at his nonchalant facade and threw caution to the wind, dipping Lenny in a kiss. The raucous cheers erupting throughout the gym were barely distinctive to him. The world shrunk down to the space between their lips - or rather the _lack thereof_ , and any coherent thought that told Carl this was absolutely insanity; it was flung out the window.

Now, standing under a mistletoe called for a kiss, not a full-blown passionate, heavy makeout (as much as Carl would like that to be the case), so he eventually pulled away, but only enough to rest his forehead against Lenny’s. The hooting and wolf whistling and cheerful Christmas music faded in again and Carl realized their entire reunited class were cheering for him and his supposed best friend.

_Hopefully, they could workshop that title later._

Lenny began giggling, hugging Carl tight to him, and Carl couldn’t help but join in. The applause and noise around them quieted down, with people going back to their discussions and punch.

“Len, I uh- don’t know what to say,” he exhaled.

“Don’t say anything,” hushed Lenny happily, rubbing through Carl’s hair and then moving his hands around to cup his face. “We’re alright.”


End file.
